Contents

History and Tidbits

The term "Melungeon" has generally been applied to a widely distributed group of people associated with the general region of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky in the United States, but generally regarded as particularly concentrated in the general area of Eastern Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Northwest North Carolina. References are also made to Melungeon groups in Ohio and Louisiana. Although definitions of what exactly constitute a Melungeon differ, these are a mixed-race people.

While this study has been widely publicized as though it completely settles the question of Melungeon origins generally, it does not. Various surnames traditionally associated with Melungeon identity were not included in the study. In addition, it leaves untouched some of the families who in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were typically classed as whites, but who claimed Native American ancestry, such as the Sizemore claimants among the Eastern Cherokee applicants.

Some have been described as being "swarthy" or at least somewhat dark-skinned in appearance, but the physical characteristics of Melungeons differ greatly. Because this is a mixed race group of people, and because the exact racial characteristics vary, it is impossible to pin down a precise Melungeon appearance. In addition, again because of the mixed race nature of Melungeons, even siblings can differ greatly in their physical characteristics. That is demonstrated by the photo that accompanies this article.

Melungeon identity is assumed to involve a mixture of some combination of Western European, Native American, and sometimes African ancestry, with early assertions of "Portuguese" or "Portuguese Indian" background being widely claimed. The term "tri-racial isolate" has been academically applied to this group, but this term is problematic in that not all Melungeons claim a tri-racial identity and, in many cases, these families appear to be anything but "isolates."

Stories and claims abound as to how this group of people descend from Portuguese, or Turks and/or Moors, who navigated to the American shores with the Portuguese, and who intermarried with Native Americans prior to English settlement.

Some of the most prominent surnames that have been claimed as potentially associated with a Melungeon identity include Bowling (Bolin), Bunch, Chavis (Chavez), Collins, Epps, Evans, Fields, Francisco, Gibson, Gill, Goins, Goodman, Minor, Mise, Moore, Mullins, Osborn(e), Phipps, Reeves (Rives, Rieves, Reeves, Reaves), Ridley (Riddle), Rodrigues, Stowers, Vanover, Williams, and Wise. This extremely partial list should not be taken as suggesting, however, that every family using this surname is necessarily considered to be Melungeon.

Some of the sources and discussions pertaining to the Melungeons suggest that, in some cases, there may be a relationship to a specific Native American group. One of those groups that figures prominently consists of those generally defined as Saponi.

In addition, alternate names exist for Melungeons, one of the most prominent being Guineas, another being Black Dutch. Sometimes the "Black" designation will appear in front of a Melungeon surname, not necessarily to indicate sub-Saharan African ancestry, but merely to designate a tendency toward somewhat dark skin.

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

DNA Project

References

Bibliography

Probably the best-known book concerned with this subject is N. Brent Kennedy, The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People: An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America(Mercer University Press, 1997) (Google Books link).

Many have taken issue with Kennedy's conclusions, probably most notably Virginia Easley DeMarce:

Others have, however, concluded that, based on recent reevaluation of records pertaining to Melungeon families, the phenomenon is much as Kennedy described. Kennedy's book is a part of a series of books about Melungeons published by Mercer University Press. Those books, as well as other printed materials on the subject, are listed below.

A 2011 best-seller by Daniel J. Sharfstein deals with the not-uncommon phenomenon of black families in early America making the migration toward reinventing themselves as white. This book, titled The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White (Penguin Press, 2011), discusses Melungeons as a mixed-ancestry group.

Another prominent book concerned with the subject of the Melungeons is the first non-fiction book by Lisa Alther, who has previously been known as a best-selling novelist. The book is Kinfolks: Falling Off the Family Tree - The Search for My Melungeon Ancestors (Arcade Publishing, 2007). This book highlights the difficulties of researching families with Melungeons roots.

Yet another relatively recent (2005) book which deals with the Melungeon phenomenon (although seeming to avoid use of the term) is Paul Heinegg, Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina from the Colonial Period to About 1820. This is a two-volume set which received an award from the American Society of Genealogists as the best work of genealogical scholarship published from 1991 to 1994. Oddly, however, the book appears to have a tendency to refer to families of mixed race as simply either mulatto or as black, even where indications would suggest at least some Native American ancestry.

A very informative non-print source regarding the Melungeons is the approximately hour-long documentary film titled Melungeon Voices. This film was directed by Julie Williams Dixon with cinematography by Warren Gentry. The film's website is here, and the trailer from the documentary can be viewed in YouTube here.

This film discusses various theories regarding the origin of the Melungeon people, while focusing largely on the people of Newman's Ridge. One strength of the film is that it presents a variety of viewpoints, as well as research evidence. Melungeon Voices points out, in its narration, that genealogical research into Melungeon families can be challenging. Brent Kennedy, author of the book mentioned above, appears in the film as well as other researchers and speakers who figure prominently in discussions about Melungeons.

One of the sources listed below, that of an untitled affidavit in the Eastern Cherokee Application of George Washington Plummer, appears on the surface to only discuss Cherokee ancestry, while more likely addressing Melungeon background, as suggested by other records. This might explain the inability to establish specifically Cherokee ancestry on the part of the applicants, in addition to statements that they were "generally" recognized as white. The affidavit discusses the claims presented in the Sizemore applications, which, according to the document, "number about two thousand, representing approximately five thousand individuals." These were individuals living primarily in "northwestern North Carolina, northeastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and southern West Virginia."

Among the materials listed below, note that some of the period sources, such as those by Dromgoole, are derogatory in nature.

Eastern Cherokee Application of George Washington Plummer, National Archives (contains a lengthy affidavit about not just Plummer's claim, but those of the "Sizemore claimants" in general, quoting from a number of the claimants; those claims appear to be directly Melungeon-related).

Heinegg, Paul, Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina from the Colonial Period to About 1820, 5th ed., Baltimore: Clearfield Company by Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005.

Hicks, Theresa M., and Wes Taukchiray, South Carolina Indians, Indian Traders, and Other Ethnic Connections: Beginning in 1670, The Reprint Company, 1998.

Kessler, John S., and Donald B. Ball, North from the Mountains: A Folk History of the Carmel Melungeon Settlement, Highland County, Ohio, Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2001. (Google Books link)

Podber, Jacob J., The Electronic Front Porch: An Oral History of the Arrival of Modern Media in Rural Appalachia and the Melungeon Community, Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2007. (Google Books link)